I’m in Washington, DC today for ITEEA 2016. I just gave a talk on a topic that is extremely important to me: collaborating to build a diverse STEM-literate society. I argued about the need to include youth voice and choice in defining new standards for technological literacy. I brought down the house!! Literally, the lights went off and for awhile I spoke in the dark… with the serendipity of a dramatic situation to captivate the focussed attention of my audience.

EDCP 473: Digital Media & Ethics in ICT

Here are some of the challenging questions that we are discussing in EDCP 473 (Digital Media in ICT: Ethical Uses).

How should teachers react to videos depicting local teen violence? How can teachers empower their students to deal with bullies constructively? When should parents get involved? What is the role of law (e.g., we can’t criminalize those we should protect)? For example, consider: CTV Vancouver News, Feb 2, 2016.

Have you ever been bullied in your personal or work life? Where you ever the bully? Do you have any stories to share about cyberbullying in your school? For example, consider: Academic Bullying & Mobbing.

As Shariff (2015) asks, how do we (educators, parents, policy makers, and the legal community) develop create ways to facilitate the growth of digitally empowered children and young adults? What are your recommendations for the development of safe school environments and anti-oppression education (e.g. teacher education in legal, digital, and media literacy; engage youth in policy development; educate the news media; sensitivity training for law enforcement personnel; updates to existing legislation in the Youth Criminal Justice Act)?

How might we strengthen Canada’s laws against cyberbullying? What are the affordances and constraints of the WITS (Walk Away, Ignore, Talk it Out, and Seek Help) program that the Canadian government is promoting to reduce cyberbullying?

According to Canadian Law, can children be deemed child pornographers when sexting non-consensual intimate images? What are the negative long and short-term consequences of criminalizing young people?

What are the public’s rights to open courts and press freedoms? Without the ability to pursue legal actions anonymously, will bullied children feel safe to pursue legal action to protect themselves (without fear of revictimization)?

What are the root causes of cyberbullying? How do teens react to cyberbullying? What is the role of social media in fostering youth civic engagement and digital citizenship? What are the challenges as youth develop their identities and social relationships both on and offline?